


Stranger Snubs

by LoreoftheFerns



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: 80's Music, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Dungeons & Dragons References, Fluff, Gen, Inspired by Stranger Things (TV 2016), Non Idol AU, Stranger Things AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:47:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27095275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoreoftheFerns/pseuds/LoreoftheFerns
Summary: I’ve been really missing stranger things this year, and with the onset of fall, I decided to start writing instead of just moping around bc lets be honest, without svt I’m not sure we could remain sane this year. Essentially, our svt kiddos in a stranger things au-every chapter we will rotate member perspectives. Some have powers, some don't. Monsters appear and they deal with it. Let's see how this all unravels, I'm not sure how it'll turn out too. Disclaimer: No romance in this one, sorry guys. Just friendship and found family tropes.
Kudos: 1





	1. Cocoa & Chili | JEONGHAN

**Author's Note:**

> This is written in part due to inspiration from the #caratrevival event held on tumblr. The first week’s themes were Jeonghan and your Favorite Hip-Hop Unit song, which in my case is Chilli. Hope you enjoy the references!
> 
> visit me at @loreofthekidults.tumblr.com

Jeonghan stomped down the stairs into the warmly lit basement. He scanned the room for the small, black case, but blankets, board games, and backpacks were strewn into every corner and across every surface. He stalked past the group crowded around the round table staring intently at their character sheets. 

“Have you seen my flute case, Seokmin?” Jeonghan called out to his younger cousin behind him. He threw a pile of jackets off the floral armchair and rummaged a hand through the cushions. Nope, not there. 

“No idea!” The kid didn’t even lift his head from arranging the grid with the figurines of his new campaign. 

“Are you really not going to tell me?” Jeonghan gushed as he hopped over and encased Seokmin in a suffocating bear hug. He pulled his scrawny cousin off his chair and began to swing him back and forth in the air. “Pleeease? Please please please? Just give me a hint.”

Seokmin, ever the happy bug, screamed his head off like a pigeon in fright while intermittently shrieking in laughter. 

Across the table, Mingyu giggled but continued to roll for his stats. Vernon spared them a glance, but simply chose to ignore the chaos beside him while Hoshi guffawed his distinctive laugh and clapped his seal clap. Seungkwan sighed dramatically but couldn’t help joining in on the attack.

“Come on, tell him! Then we can finally get him out of our hair and start playing!” Seungkwan protested as he tickled his helplessly flailing friend. 

“Okay, okay!” Seokmin gasped, “Check the vcr pile—it’s probably somewhere there.” He pointed to the corner of the room where a mountain of plastic cases rose beside their boxy television. Jeonghan immediately let him go, letting him drop heavily onto the carpeted floor. It only took a moment of scavenging for him to spot his flute case stacked underneath Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and his collection of Twilight Zone tapes. 

“Is it a home game today?” Vernon asked, glancing at the marching band helmet lying on the table.

“Yup, glad we don’t have to travel an hour to Soomantown just to watch their football team wreck ours again. We can get wrecked 10 minutes from home this time,” Jeonghan chuckled as he grabbed his shako helmet and ruffled Seokmin’s chestnut-brown hair. “Thanks, bud.”

“DM for us next time,” Seokmin hollered after him, his head a mess. “We miss your campaigns!”

“Alright, maybe next time.” Jeonghan stuffed his instrument and shako into his Jansport and threw on his periwinkle blue marching band jacket. “Don’t forget there’s Grandma’s chili in the crockpot if you guys get hungry.” He clamored back up the stairs, out of the toasty basement of his childhood where he used to weave magical stories of monsters and heroes with them. 

It wasn’t as if he no longer liked Dungeons and Dragons and the crazy storytelling that came with it, but he had other things to fill his time than sitting at home playing make-believe, especially with—as much as he loved these kids—newly minted freshmen.

As Jeonghan opened the garage door, he was met with the crisp smell of decaying leaves and fresh air of October. He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath in. Oof, so chilli. 

A slight moldy stink tickled his nostrils, though. Crinkling his nose, he opened his eyes just to see another kid speeding on his bike up the driveway to the house.

“Hey, Jeonghan,” The kid hopped off and threw his bike haphazardly onto the grass. “Nice outfit.” He swung his backpack at him as he dashed past him into the house. 

“You better hurry up Dino, else they’ll start without you,” Jeonghan called, half-heartedly dodging the swing.

By the time Jeonghan parked his car behind the high school and strolled onto the fields toward the rest of the marching band, he couldn’t help but miss the cozy heat of the basement. 

Rubbing his hands together desperate for any warmth, Jeonghan walked towards where Joshua was kneeling in the grass assembling his clarinet. They waved at each other in greeting and began sharing complaints like two elderly patients deeply offended by the cold seeping into their joints.

Seungcheol shuffled over and pointed a gloved finger at Jeonghan. “Late! That’s going on your record Yoon Jeonghan.” He made an overly exaggerated effort in taking out his pen and writing Jeonghan’s name in his notebook. 

“Chill, man. What’s the point of being friends with the drum major if I can’t dodge the rules sometimes?” Jeonghan whined despite laughing at his friend’s antics. 

Seungcheol just wagged his finger at him accusingly. “Make him run laps,” Joshua softly suggested with his mischievous smile. 

“No time, unfortunately. We gotta go warm up soon.” Eyes scanning the expanse of light blue uniforms, Seungcheol was back into drum major mode. “Oh hey, the trumpet girl is late, too.”

They turned to look at the new girl in town stepping onto the field. It wasn’t often their small town had any visitors, even rarer a new resident family. 

“Anyways,” Seungcheol clapped his hands, “let’s get into your sections.” He wandered off into the crowd, ordering his classmates to start warming up while brandishing his trombone in one hand like a disgruntled substitute teacher. 

Joshua stopped Jeonghan for a moment before they separated and handed him a hand warmer. “Thanks!” “Nope, I’m keeping the other three.” Jeonghan snickered as he shoved Joshua away and joined the rest of the flutes in their warm up drills. 

As expected, their marching band show was performed without a hitch, and the spectators gushed over the color guard with their periwinkle blue and rose pink flag formations. 

And as expected, the opposing football team with their star players totally squashed Pledies High’s football team. 

When half-time finally crawled into view, Jeonghan, Joshua, and Seungcheol could not be more ecstatic. It was only 7pm, but the autumn chill settled like a thick blanket over the field. Playing bleacher features to a futile game on cold metal seats didn’t do much to keep them warm either. 

So when they were finally allowed to put their instruments away and take a break from the disaster of a game, they quickly squeezed their way through the crowd to get to the snack shop and raffle tables. 

Leaning against the fence by the edge of the field, the trio cuddled their cups of hot cocoa in their hands and inhaled the sweet steam like desperate sharks around blood.

Jeonghan scrunched his eyebrows as he detected the funky scent that he couldn’t quite identify mixed in with the sugary smell.

A presence softly rustled behind Jeonghan and murmured slowly. Shivers shot through Jeonghan, and he whipped his head toward the quiet voice. His sudden jerk sploshed some of the hot cocoa onto his hand, burning his fingers and making him even more panicked. He instinctively leaned in towards Joshua, away from whatever creeped up next to him. 

Jeonghan let out a breath as he recognized the figure. The tall, lean person next to him wore a fitting varsity jacket from the visiting school. His face wore a nonchalant expression that morphed into one of surprise as he did a double take when he finally got a good look at Jeonghan’s face.

“Oh, wait. You’re not Johnny.” He turned away in embarrassment and sauntered back into the crowd, presumably to find his not-Jeonghan friend.

“He thought I was one of their star football players?” Jeonghan asked incredulously, looking bug eyed at his friends. Seungcheol giggled and flicked a strand of his hair. “Must be the silky locks.”

As Joshua and Seungcheol played with his hair, Jeonghan saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. He caught a whiff of that same moldy funk.

“Guys, do you smell that?” Jeonghan pushed himself off the fence and squinted at the dark foliage behind the bleachers. 

“Smell what?” Seungcheol sniffed the air and rubbed his nose. Joshua followed Jeonghan’s gaze. “Is that trumpet girl?”

The blue uniform could just be barely made out against the shadows of the tree line. She appeared to be climbing into the thick shrubbery.

“Maybe she lost something?” He gestured for his friends to follow him. “Come on, let’s go help her.” Jeonghan discarded his empty cup in the trash bin and walked towards the trees. Joshua calmly blinked a few times before trudging along forward with him.

“What could she have lost so far into the woods?” Seungcheol whined. But he couldn’t hide his concern in his voice as he also curiously, and apprehensively, peered into the darkness after her. 

They ventured past the bleachers away from the stadium lights into the trees. Here, among the branches and brambles, the shadows blended into each other and the volume of the crowd behind them was muffled.

Joshua took out a small keychain flashlight attached to his swiss-army knife. With its measly light, they made their way through underbrush, past twisty trees, and around thorny vines. The football field was only a short distance away, but the atmosphere felt heavy with the night and the trees seemed to be watching them.

“Guys, are you sure she went this way?” Seungcheol’s voice climbed higher by a few pitches as he reluctantly fell in step behind them.

Snaps of twigs and distant growling could be heard ahead of them. Jeonghan coughed slightly as he breathed, the moldy scent creeping through the air formidably. It felt like the air was lined with layers of webs of sticky mold, and no amount of flailing could unstick the smell. 

“Man, you weren’t kidding earlier. This smell is nauseating.” Joshua whispered nasally, fingers pinching his nose.

They came to a clearing where a creature seemed to be digging at the roots of a tree. Jeonghan couldn’t quite make out what it was. But he was sure it wasn’t just a dog that escaped their yard. It’s movements were… off.

It was about the size of a medium-sized dog, but without any of the expected pupper qualities. Its leathery skin rippled like damp velvet and slime was oozing off in tiny droplets. When the brightness from Josh’s flashlight hit its back, the creature whipped around immediately. Where there should have been a face, its head opened up like a blooming flower, with five petal lined with rows of teeth. It screamed a bobcat scream and pranced forward at the trio. 

Stumbling backwards, Jeonghan grabbed a stick from the ground and swung it wildly in front of him. Joshua was crouched in a defensive position with his flashlight in a trembling hand but was frozen shock-still, swiss army knife totally forgotten. Seungcheol grabbed Jeonghan’s shoulders behind him, holding him as a barrier between him and the creature. 

Shrieking, Seungcheol mustered all the courage he had and threw the remaining bits of hot cocoa in his cup at the creature. The liquid hit it square in the face, making the monster rear back in surprise for a moment. But after a wary lick, it seemed to lap up the spilt drink deliciously.

“Did you just feed the monster?” Jeonghan hissed.

“It’s all I have on me! What else could I throw at it?” Seungcheol waved his arms wildly as he returned to his post behind Joshua and Jeonghan, pulling on their jacket sleeves to get them to back slowly away from the clearing. 

“I don’t know, maybe a rock or something?” Joshua whisper-screamed in a very un-Joshua manner.

“Chill, buddy, Chill,” Jeonghan held the stick in front of him and waved it gently to the left. And right. Then left. 

The creature closed its face petals to form a bud-like head which followed the motion of the stick curiously. Right and left and right.

Jeonghan winded up his arm and threw the stick to the distant side of the clearing. The creature turned and ran after the branch, demolishing it with its teeth. Splinters flew everywhere.

“Go, go, go, go, go!” Jeonghan turned and shoved Joshua and Seungcheol. They scrambled blindly past the thorns, out of the woods, and into the bright lights of the field. They reached the back of the bleachers, and Seungcheol grasped them deliriously into a tight embrace. Josh was still wide-eyed while Jeonghan was giggling half hysterically from the remnants of the adrenaline. 

“Whoa, what happened to you guys?” The trio looked up and saw trumpet girl standing before them, eyebrows raised and a leaf sticking out of her hair.

“You’re alive!” Jeonghan gasped. The trio looked at each other bewildered and cackled deliriously.


	2. Fruit Snacks and Wonder Bread | DINO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dino perspective! This picks up in tandem to chapter one with Jeonghan. Just piling onto this svt x stranger things universe hoping things make sense. This chapter is a short one.

“Don’t forget to say your thank you-s and excuse me-s!” 

“Yup!”

“And remember to wash your hands and clean up after yourself!”

“Yup!”

“And also share your snacks with everyone!”

“I know, I know,” Dino swept an armful of fruit snacks off the kitchen counter into his backpack as his mother stood beside him with hands on her hips. “And I know, don’t be too mean to Seungkwan, yup, got to go now!” 

Dino rushed out of the kitchen to the back yard and tugged on the door handle to the shed. His bike was leaning against the wall in its usual dusty corner beside the rakes. After retrieving his bike, Dino hurriedly waved to his mother seeing him off through the parlor window. As he reached the line where the grass met the asphalt of the driveway, the garage door grumbled open to his test.

The dingy Ford Station Wagon thrummed to life and slowly backed out into the sunlight. The windows rolled down, and the scream of the electric guitar paired with the bass and snare heartbeat of Prince’s When Doves Cry flew out into the air. Dino’s older brother Jihoon glanced at him in passing as he reversed down the driveway. His friend Wonwoo sat in the passenger seat and nodded at Dino in greeting. 

“Where you headed?” Jihoon asked him nonchalantly while twisting around to see if he was going to hit any trees.

“To Seokmin’s. We’re starting up a new campaign.” Dino kept pace next to the car as it crawled down the driveway.

“You guys still play Dungeons and Dragons?” Wonwoo pushed his glasses up. Dino could feel the gentle mockery in Wonwoo’s piercing gaze. 

“Yeah, we do. What bingo session are you senior citizens off to join?” 

Jihoon snickered and shook a finger at his younger sibling. “What a smartass. Who’s DMing this time? Your campaign sucked last time, hope it’s not you again.”

“You have poor taste in adventure. And Seokmin is.”

“Good. Well have fun, then. Remind Soonyoung that we’re meeting later. And tell him not to be late again.”

“Where are you guys meeting?”

“He’ll know.”

“Come on. Tell me.” 

“Bye Channie.” Jihoon gave Dino a curt look before changing gears and turning onto the road. Dino bugged his eyes out at him in retribution. 

“See ya, Dino.” Wonwoo raised a hand in goodbye. 

They think they’re so cool. Dino smirked internally as the two drove away in the ugly wood-paneled car. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out his headphones, attached it to his walkman, and pressed play. The falsetto of Michael Jackson’s Beat It filled his ears. Hopping onto his bike, Dino pedaled furiously in the opposite direction.

Seokmin’s house, only a short 15 minute ride away, was located in a general northern direction from Dino’s home. In between were lengths of forest and hills, and driveways dotted here and there. The schools and hubs of Plediestown were on the other side of town, so this part of the woods was quiet, with only families and farms going about their lives like happy smurfs.

The autumn air had chilled the air and shriveled leaves were sprinkled across the grounds. Another, more attentive person would have better appreciated the gradients of red, burgundy, pumpkin orange, and mustard yellow foliage of the forests around them. The neighborhood contained snapshots comparable to Bob Ross landscapes. But to Dino, this was nothing new to admire, it was just home. 

Like Nuest Court, where the houses of the cul-de-sac were clustered together at the bottom of a large hill with the massively old oak tree. It wasn’t just a scenic view, it was where all the kids in the neighborhood went sledding in the winter and played manhunt amongst the fireflies until the summer sun disappeared. 

Dino zoomed past the hill, the oak tree standing majestically as ever. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the movement of a figure strolling under the tree.

Is that Minki?? What was he doing here? 

Dino blinked furiously. It had been years since the boys of Nuest Court had left town together to follow their dreams in the city. If one of them had returned home, it would have been the buzz of the town. Turning his head, Dino squinted at the lean figure . He had shoulder length black hair, loose-fitting white shirt, thin—honk. HONK.

Whoa. 

Dino screeched to a halt and twisted his bike sharply towards the curb. A car drove around Dino, and he saw Seungcheol giving him a happy wave in his sky-blue marching band uniform through the driver’s window. Even with the windows closed, Dino could hear the guy giggle his ridiculous giggle as he passed.

Dino turned his gaze back towards the oak tree atop the Nuest Court hill, but the figure was no longer there. 

Oh well. Dino merely shrugged and went along his way. He’d hear about any new visitors sooner or later in this small town. 

By the time Dino was pedaling up the driveway to Seokmin’s house, he had all but forgotten about the possible Minki appearance. The garage door rose as he neared the house, and Jeonghan appeared, donning the same ridiculous blue uniform as Seungcheol. Dino threw his bike onto the grass beside their perennial bushes and rushed into the garage, swinging his backpack at Jeonghan.

“Hey Jeonghan. Nice outfit.”

The older boy dodged his attack and called after him, but Dino was already two steps in the house and purposely ignoring him—he hated being babied by Jeonghan. The warmth of the house tickled his cheeks, and he lightly plodded down the familiar stairs into the even toastier basement. 

“Eyy Dino!” Hoshi yelled, jumping up from his chair. Vernon raised a hand in greeting. Mingyu and Seungkwan were in the midst of an argument over who’s dice were prettier, so Dino plopped down next to Seokmin, who gave him his trademark sunshine smile and high-fived him.

It wasn’t long before the group huddled seriously around the small table and quickly descended into the magical realm of Seokmin’s imagination.

“The party leaves the inn well stuffed and equipped with shiny new weapons.” Seokmin’s eyes widened dramatically as he narrated the story and built the world up around them. “You all head towards the edge of the forest where the old wizard said the gate to the Noir dimension is located. There is no sign of any life, but there is a stream of gurgling water and trees lined the shoreline. In the shadows of the woods, three—”

“Can I attack the stream?” Hoshi interrupted. 

“Why in the world do you want to attack the stream, Soonyoung? It’s not going to do anything,” Seungkwan rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration. 

Hoshi stood with one foot on his stool, his chest puffed out, and his imaginary sword in his right hand pointed towards the ceiling. “Because I can!” he laughed mightily.

Mingyu groaned and swiped his hand through his hair impatiently. “We’re not even going to get to start the quest today,” he muttered. 

Vernon smiled and shook his head, used to Hoshi’s goofy antics. Seokmin laughed heartily, clearly enjoying this turn of events. 

“Ok! Roll to attack!” Seokmin declared.

Hoshi took his d20 and dropped it into the center of the table. “Oyyyy, Nat 20!!!”

“You successfully attack the river!” Seokmin screamed. “Hoshi slices at the water, and you can hear a soft gurgling sound eerily similar to the word ‘ouch’.” Hoshi religiously followed the words of the Dungeon Master and mimed poking his sword at an imaginary river.

Mingyu doubled over cackling and managed to fall off his chair. Vernon was shaking Seungkwan’s shoulder in glee as they both guffawed incredulously.

“What a waste of a nat 20!” Dino exclaimed, but he was struggling to breath from his own shrieks of laughter, too. 

Seokmin suddenly slammed his hand on the table, startling everyone into silence. His face grew serious and he looked at everyone with a sinister glare. “Little did you know, the water began to shine and part. A glowing ring with a dark center appeared out of the water and a freezing wind blew out of the circle. Roll for investigation check.”

They each rolled in turn and Hoshi—and only Hoshi—failed the check.

“Alright,” Seokmin rubbed his hands together mischievously. “Everyone but Soonyoung realizes this is a portal to another world. You know, probably the portal you guys were looking for. Soonyoung, on the other hand, thinks it’s a really cool blow dryer and sticks his face through the glowing portal.”

“What do you see in there, Soonyoung?” Dino asked, only half serious. 

“I don’t know. It’s really dark, hahaha.” 

“Do we have a torch or something?” Mingyu asked.

“I got one. Here’s the baton, man,” Vernon pretends to hand Hoshi the imaginary light source. 

“Suddenly, you hear a terrifying ROAR!!!” Seokmin howled at the top of his lungs. Seungkwan hugged Dino in fright.

“And with that, Soonyoung is pulled into the other dimension and the portal closes.” Seokmin sits back down and smiles sweetly at the party, waiting for them to react. They all just stared back at him in shock.

“Dude!” Hoshi broke the silence. “Am I dead?”

“Nope!” Seokmin stated simply and chuckled a bit embarrassedly. “I just didn’t plan for you guys to discover the portal this early, so I needed to get you guys back on track first.”

“But I’m stuck in the other dimension now? Separated from the party???” Hoshi squished his cheeks in despair. 

“Don’t worry. You’re fine.” Seokmin laughed and patted his friend’s back reassuringly. “You guys wanna take a quick snack break?”

“Yes please.” Mingyu stood up immediately. Dino peeled Seungkwan off of him and poured his hoard of fruit snacks onto the table. 

Hoshi slumped into the sofa dejectedly. “Guess I’ll just sit here and watch you guys play then.”

“Oh right, Soonyoung!” Dino called out as he climbed the stairs to get some more food. “Jihoon said to not forget to meet him and Wonwoo for something. He didn’t tell me where, though. Just make sure to be very late.”

Dino reached the top of the stairs and turned towards the kitchen.

What the—”HEY!” Dino shouted. The rest of the boys clambered up the stairs and peered into the doorway behind him. 

An unfamiliar boy stood beside the counter stuffing his face with wonder bread and the leftover chili. He was dressed in a wrinkled white hospital gown that reached mid-thigh and thin pajama pants with dirt smudges all over. His long jet-black hair hung limply, and as he reached his hand out to grab another piece of bread, the kitchen light shined down onto his thin forearm. Along the inside of his wrist, the inky numbers stood out against his pale skin: 008.

Dino gasped.

“You’re the Minki impersonator!”


End file.
